The present invention relates to a device for controlling the transfer of articles between oppositely running conveyors.
There are many applications wherein oppositely running conveyors disposed side by side and generally parallel are used for transporting articles. A common such use is in conveying accumulator systems utilized between an upstream delivery station and a downstream receiving station to accumulate or store articles when the capacity of the downstream receiving station is either shut down or run at a speed wherein it cannot handle the number of articles being fed by the upstream delivery station. Such accumulator conveying systems are well known to those skilled in the art. One particular accumulator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,325. An additional prior art accumulator system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,858. With such accumulator systems, and any other system wherein articles are transferred from one conveyor running in one direction onto another conveyor running in an opposite direction, a device must be provided for controlling the transfer of the articles from one conveyor onto the other.
The present invention relates particularly to an improved transport device utilized for controlling the transfer of articles from a first conveyor running in a first direction onto a second conveyor running in a second opposite direction.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for controlling the flow of articles, particularly the flow of articles from a first conveyor driven in a first direction onto a second conveyor driven in a second direction.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide an article storage accumulator which permits a large number of articles to be stored in a relatively small amount of floor space.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a system that includes a first conveyor driven in a first direction and a second conveyor driven in a second direction, as well as an improved transport member utilized to movably propel articles from the first conveyor onto the second conveyor with a driven first article transfer member.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a second article transfer member remote from the first article transfer member which may also movably propel articles from the first conveyor onto the second conveyor.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
The present invention has particular application in conveyor accumulator systems wherein oppositely running and parallel conveyors are used to accumulate and store articles between an upstream receiving station and a downstream delivery station. One such accumulator system is disclosed and described in co-pending U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 08/235,888 entitled xe2x80x9cApparatus for Controlling the Flow of Articlesxe2x80x9d and Ser. No. 09/365,119 entitled xe2x80x9cDevice for Transferring Articles between Oppositely Running Conveyors.xe2x80x9d The ""888 and ""119 application are incorporated herein in their entirety for all purposes.
Although conveyors are a feature of the present invention, conventional conveyors are well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described herein in great detail. The features of the conveyors necessary for an understanding of the invention will be sufficiently described.
In accordance with the objects and purposes of the invention, an apparatus is provided for controlling the flow of articles. This apparatus includes a first conveyor driven in a first direction to convey articles thereon in the first direction. A second conveyor is driven in a second opposite direction to convey articles thereon in the opposite direction. As mentioned above, the first and second conveyors may be used in a conventional accumulator system. The conveyors extend generally side by side and parallel with a constant space defined between the inside edges thereof.
A movable transport member is disposed within the space defined between the conveyors and comprises a bridge that extends across the space between the conveyors and is generally flush with the upper surfaces of the conveyors. The transport member is drivingly engaged by both of the conveyors so as to move linearly between the conveyors depending on a speed differential of the conveyors. In other words, the transport member and bridge move in the direction of the faster conveyor. If both conveyors are moving linearly in opposite directions but at the same speed, the transport member remains stationary relative to the conveyors.
An article transfer member is carried by the transport member and is operably disposed relative to one of the conveyors. The transfer member possesses an article propelling member which contacts the side of the articles to propel the articles from one conveyor to the next depending on the disposition of the article transfer member. For example, The article transfer member may be disposed relative to the first conveyor allowing the article propelling member to contact and drivably transfer articles from the first conveyor to the second conveyor.
The transport member may comprise a drive wheel that is simultaneously engaged by drive lugs on each of the conveyors. The drive wheel has gear teeth engaged by the drive lugs so as to continuously rotate so long as at least one of the conveyors is moving. The transport member may comprise any manner of frame or structure. In a preferred embodiment, the transport member comprises a relatively simple carriage that is connected at one end to the drive wheel.
In a preferred embodiment, the bridge member comprises a deformable rail having dimensions so as to fit between the conveyors within the space defined between the conveyor edges. The rail has a longitudinal length to define a length of the bridge member. In a preferred embodiment, the bridge member is comprised of a plurality of pivotally connected links having an upper surface that is generally flush with the upper surface of the conveyors. The links are pivotally connected and thus deformable so that the transport member and bridge can easily follow curves or turns in the conveyors.
In a preferred embodiment, the article transfer member, carried by the transport member, is disposed transversely to the conveyors. The article propelling member is driven by the drive wheel of the carriage. The drive wheel causes the article propelling member to rotate in the direction from the first conveyor towards the second conveyor, propelling the articles that contact it from the first conveyor in the direction of the second conveyor as described above.
In another preferred embodiment, a second article transfer member is connected to the end of the bridge remote from the carriage and first article transfer member. The second article transfer member is operably disposed above and between the conveyor and also comprises an article propelling member driven by the drive wheel of the carriage. The article propelling member of the second transfer member also aids in rotatably propelling the articles from the first conveyor to the second conveyor. In this embodiment, the first article transfer member may be driven or movable or it may be stationary, such as a deflecting rail.